Chapter 54 – Konoha's Reprisal I
"Talk"
'Think'
Flashback
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto sensei.
A/N: A Tale of Two Jinchūriki has reached 10,000 views! Thank you for reading =D
A/N: Thank you Birdly The Reaper of Souls, jeffeuilo, vanessa gold2 and WinterWonder5 for your supports.
A/N: Thank you dav for your comment. Honestly, I laughed when I read it. Sorry that the summary was bland. When I wrote it, I do not know how this story will turn out, so I just wrote the gist of it.
On the way back, Noriko learnt from Shizune that Hokage and Kazekage were trapped inside a purple barrier and they have to fight Otokage who turned out to be Orochimaru. At the same time, the audience for the Chūnin Exam was also trapped inside a different purple barrier that will detonate if the barrier was disturbed. This effectively cut Konoha shinobi's power by half when shinobi from Otogakure attacked Konoha.
Luckily for Konoha, Jiraiya and members from Team Tobirama were not at the stadium; their presence in tandem with Tsunade's slugs thus kept the number of casualties at double digits (Noriko winced at that). Many of them died when Oto shinobi underwent physical changes that increased their powers. This reminded Noriko of Mizuki which she shared with Shizune.
Shizune then informed her that all shinobi that were trapped in the stadium were tasked to look for survivors and clean-up duty while shinobi that has fought were ordered for a check-up. Those who were given clean bill of health by Iryō-nin were ordered to go to Shinobi Hall.
When Noriko arrived at the hall, she saw a number of shinobi, all looked worn out from fighting but uninjured. Then she saw Naruto talking to Gaara. Noriko moved towards them and heard Gaara's voice "…once the seal was broken, Itachi used his Susanoo and I used my sand to protect the stadium from collapsing until everyone was safely away" he then noticed Noriko and smiled.
Noriko smiled back. She was about to say something when she felt Kakashi's presence "Oh, hi sensei, where's Tenzō?"
"He's at the hospital" Kakashi answered "Chakra exhaustion. Anyway, we got a mission tomorrow. So-" "What?!" Naruto and Noriko cried together. "Come, sit down and here-" Kakashi passed nutrient bars and ordered "Eat".
"I'm sure you are aware we were attacked by Otokage who turned out to be Orochimaru" this was answered by a nod from Naruto and Noriko.
"Well, he used a forbidden jutsu that brought back Shodai and Nidaime from dead" Kakashi explained "Luckily, Hokage used his Mangekyō Sharingan that reprogrammed Shodai and Nidaime to protect Konoha instead of attack. Seeing that he was greatly outnumbered, Orochimaru undid his jutsu and fought with Hokage and Kazekage. As the Kazekage was about to kill him, Orochimaru's followers released the barrier and took his place while Orochimaru fled"
"Jiraiya-sama has found Orochimaru's lair" Kakashi continued "Since Oto made the first move and attacked Konoha and Suna, as Kazekage was here, it's time for retaliation or this will encourage other Hidden Village to attack us. Orochimaru basically emptied Otogakure to attack Konoha, so the Hokage and Kazekage decided to send a small number of teams to attack Oto"
"That teams include us?" asked Naruto hopefully.
"Yup" said Kakashi with a smile "Jiraiya will lead Gaara's team, Tenzō's place will be filled with Itachi while Sandaime will lead another team"
"Itachi? Why Itachi" asked Noriko while Naruto asked "Sandaime-ojiisan?"
"Orochimaru sent a weird group of clones that possessed sharingan to attack Uchiha district and killed twenty people from the clan. When I arrived, Uchiha Tekka, the leader of Konoha Keimu Butai was on the verged of collapsing before I killed the clone's leader with Chidori. To be fair, I heard Tekka has killed many of the clones while defending his subordinates and villagers alike. Meanwhile, Sandaime offered himself because he felt responsible since Orochimaru was his student" Kakashi face was sober.
"So, what time are we leaving tomorrow?" asked Noriko.
"Dawn. We can't afford to give Orochimaru too much time ahead" answered Kakashi before continued "As a matter of fact, Inuzuka Tsume, Hyūga Hizashi and Aburame Shibi are tracking Orochimaru as we speak right now".
The next day, dawn, at the gate
When Naruto and Noriko arrived at the gate, they found Sasuke was talking to Itachi when he spotted them and said "Wait, why Naruto and Noriko can join while I can't?"
Itachi calmly answered "Because you are needed here. Firstly, with I'm gone, you are the heir to Uchiha clan. Secondly, with Tekka and many members from Konoha Keimu Butai are hospitalized, this is your opportunity to learn the rope since Hokage has been gracious enough to allow you to join them albeit temporary".
"Are we all here?" asked Jiraiya who was appointed to lead. Noriko looked around, she saw Jiraiya with Gaara, Temari and Kankurō, Sandaime with Shizune, Sai's brother Shin and an Akimichi who introduced himself as Akimichi Shitō.
"Yes" answered Kakashi who just arrived with Tenzō. Tenzō smiled weakly and said "Good luck guys. I'm sorry I cannot join".
Tenzō and Sasuke looked at the departing groups solemnly. "This sucks, isn't it" said Sasuke.
"Yes" answered Tenzō. He was sad to be left behind.
"…truthfully, Naruto and Noriko was asked because of the Kyūbi. That's why you are not…" Tenzō remembered Kakashi's words. Nevertheless, it didn't makes him feels better.
"I heard you fought a giant snake" said Sasuke.
"Yes. So did Naruto. I've had help from Noriko though" answered Tenzō.
Sasuke turned to him "Care to share? All I've got yesterday was fought with Sai and caught one Oto shinobi who was hiding".
Tenzō looked at Sasuke. He saw desperation that he knew was also reflected from his eyes "Very well. We were patrolling when Noriko reported… … …"
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"Tenzō!" yelled Shizuka "You know you are not supposed to get out of your bed! Get back to the hospital!"
End Chapter 54
A/N: Akimichi Shitō is a real character in Naruto
A/N: Next chapters will be a bit delayed. Mainly, this arc is about fighting with Orochimaru. I want to explore as much fight as possible, so that will require a lot of watching YouTube, mwahahahaha!.
Chidori – One Thousand Birds
Iryō-nin – Medical Nin
Konoha Keimu Butai – Konoha Military Police Force
Ojiisan - Grandfather